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Lot Essay
The recipient of the present kovsh, Stepan Kuimov, son of Ivan Kuimov from Velikii Ustiug, belonged to a family of wealthy Russian merchants of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Stepan was head of the Yaroslavl 'tankard yard' (kruzhechnii dvor), being responsible for collecting custom duties on drinks in the city. This type of state service was often compulsory and had to be performed for the duration of one year. Stepan Kuimov, however, had been a head of the customs for at least three years and was presented with a silver kovsh for his service in 1685 (now in the State Historical Museum, Moscow), ten yards of crimson damask fabric in 1689, and the present silver kovsh in 1690.
In the seventeenth century, Yaroslavl held its prosperous position as a commercial hub at the crossing of numerous trading routes between the East and West. Benefiting from its geographical location, the city rapidly grew as a trading port on the Volga River and soon became the second largest city in Russia after Moscow. Yaroslavl became a hub for foreign goods and the distribution platform for the entire region, and as a result it saw the rise of wealthy merchants. (A.I. Shemiakin, Istoria tamozhennogo dela v Rossii i Yaroslavskii krai, Yaroslavl, 2000, p. 201).
A nearly identical silver kovsh was presented to Stepan Kuimov in 1685 and is currently part of the collection of the State Historical Museum, Moscow (inv. GIM 19sch, OK 895); see Russkoe Serebro XVI - nachala XX veka, St Petersburg, 2004, illustrated p. 51.
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich (1863-1919) was the third son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich (1832-1909) and the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855). In 1900, he married Princess Maria Georgievna (1876-1940), second daughter of George I, King of the Hellenes (1845-1913), and Queen Olga (1851-1926), née Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. The couple had two daughters, Nina (1901-1974) and Xenia (1903-1965). Grand Duchess George and the children spent much time abroad, and when the First World War broke out, they remained in Great Britain, never to return to Russia. Grand Duke George, who had been granted permission to live in Finland in 1917, was later arrested and brought back to Petrograd. He would lose his life at the hands of the Bolsheviks in January 1919.
In 1922, Princess Nina married Prince Paul Alexandrovich Chavchavadze (1899-1971) in London. Prince Paul was descended from the Chavchavadze family of Georgia and in a direct line from the last King of Georgia, George XII (1746-1800). The couple had one son, David (1924-2014). In 1927, the young family moved to the United States, settling first in New York and eventually moving to Massachusetts.
In the seventeenth century, Yaroslavl held its prosperous position as a commercial hub at the crossing of numerous trading routes between the East and West. Benefiting from its geographical location, the city rapidly grew as a trading port on the Volga River and soon became the second largest city in Russia after Moscow. Yaroslavl became a hub for foreign goods and the distribution platform for the entire region, and as a result it saw the rise of wealthy merchants. (A.I. Shemiakin, Istoria tamozhennogo dela v Rossii i Yaroslavskii krai, Yaroslavl, 2000, p. 201).
A nearly identical silver kovsh was presented to Stepan Kuimov in 1685 and is currently part of the collection of the State Historical Museum, Moscow (inv. GIM 19sch, OK 895); see Russkoe Serebro XVI - nachala XX veka, St Petersburg, 2004, illustrated p. 51.
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich (1863-1919) was the third son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich (1832-1909) and the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855). In 1900, he married Princess Maria Georgievna (1876-1940), second daughter of George I, King of the Hellenes (1845-1913), and Queen Olga (1851-1926), née Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. The couple had two daughters, Nina (1901-1974) and Xenia (1903-1965). Grand Duchess George and the children spent much time abroad, and when the First World War broke out, they remained in Great Britain, never to return to Russia. Grand Duke George, who had been granted permission to live in Finland in 1917, was later arrested and brought back to Petrograd. He would lose his life at the hands of the Bolsheviks in January 1919.
In 1922, Princess Nina married Prince Paul Alexandrovich Chavchavadze (1899-1971) in London. Prince Paul was descended from the Chavchavadze family of Georgia and in a direct line from the last King of Georgia, George XII (1746-1800). The couple had one son, David (1924-2014). In 1927, the young family moved to the United States, settling first in New York and eventually moving to Massachusetts.